34 Chapter Thirty-Four: Giving Up (2/2)

”Let's backtrack a bit” Alex suggests. ”Why don't you tell us about your past”.

”Why now?” Siran asks.

”Well” Alex replies, ”I think we're more than deserving of finally getting to know about your history. I think we're all curious about the true story of The Naris Catastrophe, as well as there may be a clue to how to fix this situation”.

”There won't be any answers” Siran says, ”at least, none you'll want to hear, and definitely not any answers to how to stop me from dying. But if you want to know so badly, I'll tell you the full story from the very beginning. Bear with me, for I don't remember some parts, like my name. I've forgotten a lot about who I used to be”.

The time was March 23rd, 2020. In a time where magic didn't exist at all, except as a fantasy. In the state of Oklahoma, USA. In Broken Arrow, a town just outside of the city of Tulsa, there was a small neighborhood with very little residents. The neighborhood only had one street, with houses on either side of the road. In the very last house at the end of this single street, there was a man named Jack Pagan. He has white skin, was tall, with green eyes and short black hair. He was 21 years old at the time, and was returning home from a dead end fast food job. Jack lost his own home, and had to move back in with his mom. He didn't have many friends and didn't get along with his family well. Although he got along with his mother well, he could never see eye to eye with his siblings and he never knew his father. He returned home late at night, working the evening shift at work, and wanted nothing more than to just relax. Oh how he yearned for sleep, but never found it early enough that night. All week, it felt like something mysterious was creeping over his shoulders, but no one was following him. He couldn't shake this feeling, until that night. As he tried to sleep, he saw a glowing pair of eyes just outside of his window. However, he was too tired to question it. He ignored it the best he could, until the eyes began to question him.

”What's with the cold shoulder?” The eyes asked. As he leans up and looks out the window with tired eyes, Jack could see that the creature wasn't just a pair of floating eyes. It was like a tiny black cloud of smoke that could fit in the palm of your hand. It had two tiny eyes and a smile. However, Jack just simply stared at the creature in awe.

”No panic?” The creature asks. ”I expected humans to panic in the presence of an otherworldly being”.

Jack simply shrugged and said ”I can imagine scarier things”.

”Oh-ho ho!” The creature responds. ”I like you. You can call me Naris”.

”Jack” Jack replies.

”Just... Jack?” Naris asks. ”Nothing else? No special title or family name?”.

”Who cares?” Jack asks.

”Fair enough” Naris replies. ”You're an interesting human. However, it's plain to see that you're not in any good position in life. How'd you like to change that forever?”.

”By doing what? More work?” Jack asks, ”I think I'll pass”.

”Not work” Naris says, ”magic”.

”... Magic?” Jack asks skeptically, ”like from video games or something?”.

”Sure” Naris says, ”whatever relativity helps you grasp this situation”.

”Right” Jack says, ”learn magic, perform in the streets for money, maybe do something slightly heroic... I think I'm good”.

”YOU'RE good?” Naris asks with a chuckle, ”we both know that's a lie. You radiate apathy. It's plain to see”.

”And what?” Jack asks, ”what do you have planned? Prettier street magic?”.

”No” Naris replies with a chuckle again, ”you'll be leading this planet into a new era! I want you to be the catalyst in which magic becomes a part of reality! You can lead this world into a whole new age!”.

”That'd be pretty cool, I have to admit” Jack says, ”but why should I do that?”.

”I don't know” Naris says, ”you tell me. You're the one who looks so bored and empty”.

Jack sighs and says ”I guess if it doesn't get in the way of work, I'll try it. I need my job so I can move out”.

”But of course!” Naris replies, ”We'll start slowly and teach you more and more as you learn”.

”So how do people start using magic?” Jack asks, ”and why hasn't it been done before? Why couldn't magic just be discovered?”.

”All good questions” Naris says, ”there are requirements. One: you require a specific energy source called Endoindustria. I am here to act as a sort of... medium for that. The energy doesn't exist in this realm, but my existence in this realm allows a connection between this realm and the realm where Endoindustria comes from. Two: you need a channeling source. And three: you need to understand how the energy works in order to manipulate it”.

”What do we use as a channeling source?” Jack asks.

”There are several forms of channeling sources” Naris says, ”but for simplicity, we'll use charms. The charms are symbols that we will draw ourselves. Certain materials, such as metals have more potential channeling capabilities than other materials, such as paper when the charm is drawn on them. For now, we'll simply start with practicing different kinds of charms”.

”How about we start like... tomorrow?” Jack asks, ”Because I kinda need to sleep for work”.

”Oh...” Naris replies, ”sure. As you wish”.

And so Jack falls asleep, and Naris becomes attached to Jack in a strange way. Naris keeps himself hidden from every other human, only being known by Jack alone, and Jack doesn't bother telling anyone about his new plans outside of work. It's not that the sudden thought of magic being able to exist in the real world hadn't intrigued him, but Jack didn't really have anyone to talk to. Other than that, he also didn't see any reason why anyone else should know about his personal business. As long as he kept doing what he was supposed to, in Jack's mind, everything was going to be just fine. Right?